For Those Who Wait
by j7nX
Summary: Throughout the years Danny had learned that patience was the key to everything. So why should it be any different when it came to finding his soul mate?


**Title**: For Those Who Wait  
**Fandom**: Hawaii Five-0  
**Author:** j7nx**  
****Pairing****/Characters**: Steve McGarrett/Danny Williams, Grace Williams, Danny Williams/Rachel Edwards  
**Rating**: PG-13  
**Word Count**: ~ 2, 350  
**Summary**: Throughout the years Danny had learned that patience was the key to everything. So why should it be any different when it came to finding his soul mate?**  
****Content Notes****/****Warnings**: Canon AU, Mild language, Past Danny/Rachel  
**Disclaimer**: Hawaii Five-0 and all its characters belong to their respectful owners, this fic is written for entertainment only and I don't make any profit of it.  
**Author's notes: **Written for the **Steve/Danno Spring Fling** at LJ. The timeline here is a little wibbly wobbly, so if you have any questions send them my way. I tried writing this story a bit differently than I normally would, so reviews will be greatly appreciated.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

He wondered hazily when exactly he had fallen asleep as he felt someone tracing patterns on his right palm. Work at the police station had been exceptionally hard and stressful this week and every detective and officer had lost track of time more or less. The days had merged together, one case leading to another, or old cold cases becoming hot again, it was like the criminal population of New Jersey had simultaneously decided to get down to business, but finally at the end of the week the load of cases had eased a bit and everyone managed to take a break. Opening his blue eyes slowly Danny glanced down to see his daughter staring at his hand with wide wondering eyes and seemingly writing a word on his palm. He remembered that he was supposed to be reading to his baby girl her bedtime story, the book laying half open on his other side, waiting to be picked up again.

"Whatcha doing, monkey?" The blond murmured sleepily as he shifted a bit to get comfortable again.

"Who's Steve, Danno?" His four year old daughter asked curiously, all the while looking at her father's palm.

"I don't know, baby girl, why are you asking?"

She didn't answer right away, snuggling back under the blankets before mumbling quietly. "But it's on your palm, daddy."

Danny lifted his hand to take a look at his palm and was confused at the name written there. He rubbed his fingers over it, trying to erase or smudge it, but nothing happened. It was like it was tattooed on his skin. For a moment he thought that Grace had written it while he was napping, but then she wouldn't have asked to whom belonged the name, so he ruled out that possibility. Deciding to ignore it for the moment, the father picked up the book again and finished reading the fairy tale he had started. Grace fell asleep with a smile on her face, no doubt already dreaming about princesses, castles and magical creatures. Danny got up from the bed carefully and tucked in his daughter under the blankets snuggly, placing a tenderly loving kiss on her forehead before leaving her room with the door barely open to let in the light from the hallway.

The skin on his palm tingled slightly.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Almost a year later, Danny still didn't have an explanation as to how the name "Steve" had appeared on his palm. If he was completely honest with himself it wasn't like he had actively tried to find out. Sometime during the past months he had decided to rise in rank because he couldn't imagine himself being an ordinary street cop forever, not without going insane, so when the possibility to become a detective had presented itself he had thrown himself wholeheartedly at it.

But there was something strange in the whole matter with the name that was nagging insistently on the back of his head sometimes, yet he never really paid it the needed attention. At first he had hidden the name under a bandage, telling his wife that he had cut himself and she didn't press the issue. However, there was only so long he could go around with the bandage on his palm before Rachel got suspicious so he guiltily lied to her, making up some excuse that a suspect had written it on his palm with a permanent sharpie. Strangely enough soon after that she stopped asking him about it, like it didn't matter anymore and Danny couldn't help but have the feeling that he should be worried.

Coincidently or not the newly promoted detective couldn't tell at the moment, but not long after she stopped asking about it, his marriage with Rachel slowly started falling apart. At first it was barely noticeable, small arguments about little and silly things becoming vicious fights, both of them getting more and more distant from each other, submerging themselves in their respectful careers, until it was obvious that the other person had become nothing more than a stranger and Grace was the only thing still keeping them together. But even their little ray of sunshine couldn't keep them together forever.

Rachel handed over the divorce papers two years after the appearance of the name.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Danny tried to find out what the names could possibly mean after one particularly merciless fight when he saw that his wife had a name on her palm as well. There were all kinds of theories and speculations everywhere on the internet, most of which seemed like complete bullshit and some were downright ridiculous. But the theory which seemed the most popular and favored by people all over the world was that the names signified a person's soul mate and it was only a matter of time before they found each other.

Danny had a hard time accepting that theory because he was a rational man, a detective no less, there was no concrete evidence, and no solid facts to prove it, except there were despite his stubborn denial. There were countless stories telling how sooner or later men and women found their soul mates. There were cases in which the other person was a complete strange, or someone from the past, sometimes broken up couples got together again, there were all kinds of examples, but it was apparent Danny and Rachel were never destined to be truly together.

It wasn't long after the divorce was finalized, or actually it was longer than the blond had initially thought, because the months had blurred after everything was over, so possibly a year later Rachel announced that she had met a man, or rather finally made a move on a man she had had her sights on during their marriage. Danny was pathetically grateful that despite all their problems, both of them had remained faithful to the other. Rachel's new love interest was tall, handsome and quite honestly a nice guy with a considerable amount of money in his bank account and Danny couldn't help but hate his guts.

That man's name matched the one on his ex-wife's palm.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Cooking for his little girl was something Danny would always take pleasure and pride in. He knew that he certainly wasn't the greatest cook on the block, not as great as Uncle Matt for that matter, but hey, Grace was always well fed when she came over and that was the most important thing to the Williams' brothers.

It was possible that Danny was overstaying his welcome at his younger brother's apartment. It's been a couple of months since he moved in temporarily because he couldn't afford to pay bills, child support and mortgage with his meager salary. He needed a little time to get used to being single again and get a handle on his financial situation, but with the help and support of his family, Danny knew that everything would be fine soon enough.

"Danno, is Uncle Matt going to have dinner with us tonight?" Grace asked from her place on the sink, carefully and thoroughly washing the dishes from their lunch, while her father dried them and put them away.

Every other weekend when they spend time together Grace started claiming that she's old enough to wash the dishes, help with the cooking or clean around the apartment, under the watchful eye of her father of course. She always buzzes around like her old man like a little tireless bee and sometimes Danny feels overwhelmed that this precious, perfect little girl is his daughter.

"I think so, Monkey, unless he calls to say otherwise." Danny replied a little distractedly as he rubbed his fingers over his palm. There were times when the letters of the name tingled warmly and Danny couldn't help but smile a little at the feeling. For a while, when he was still bitter and hurt from the divorce, he had tried to hate the name, to blame it for his breakup with Rachel and everything that had happened, but that only made him feel even worse and he just couldn't bring himself to truly hate that name.

"Daddy, have you found your "Steve" yet?" Grace asked softly as she shut off the water and turned her big brown eyes towards her father.

This wasn't the first time she had asked him that question, in fact ever since she found out at school the purpose of the names she has been determinedly trying to find the right Steve for her Danno.

"No, sweetheart, I still haven't found my Steve." The detective replied gently with an ache in his heart. He wasn't sure if it was caused by the hopeful look in his daughter's eyes or his own yearning to find his partner in life.

Thankfully his phone rang and effectively distracted them both from the topic at hand. The blond made arrangements to meet with his ex-wife over coffee for him and tea for Rachel respectively since she wanted to tell him something important in person if possible. The next day Rachel announced that she, Grace and Stan were going to move to Hawaii.

Naturally Danny followed.

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

It's been nearly a year since the Williams and Edwards families moved to Hawaii. Grace had taken to the islands like a fish to water, loving everything about her new home and learning every piece of interesting information she could find, be it legend or real fact.

Her father on the other hand was a completely different story. He couldn't quite get used to the bright colors and lights, the laid-back way of life, the lack of the hustle and bustle of a big city such as Newark. It left him restless and jittery, like he was on the verge of jumping out of his skin and strangely enough the letters etched on his palm tingled more the usual.

Another thing which puzzled the detective even now was the fact that the name hadn't changed or faded the slightest bit since appearing all those years ago. By now he knew the shape and feel of the letters by heart and could point out every little curve and line of each letter. Sometimes his new partner caught him tracing the name on his palm longingly but there was nothing he could do to ease the pain in the haole's eyes.

Grace on the other hand was the complete opposite. She took every opportunity she had whenever she spent time with her father to find the right "Steve". For example, when they went out to eat somewhere she asked without shame and hesitation about the names of the waiters or barmen or even the cooks. Visiting the museum or a supermarket was no different, but people were always polite enough to answer her questions and that made Danny appreciate the islands a bit more.

On Friday night when the detective went by his ex-wife's house, or rather mansion if you asked Danny, to get his little girl for the weekend, Grace was awaiting his arrival eagerly by the door. As soon as he pulled up to the gate, she jumped up from the bench by the front door and bounced excitedly on her heels, before forcing herself to stay still.

"We have a very important job to do tomorrow, Danno." She greeted him mock soberly, even though it was apparent to the world that she could barely contain her excitement.

Danny's face lit up at the sight of his daughter, like every single time he laid his eyes on her and finally felt a little of the ache in his heart ease. "And what might that be, Monkey?" He asked her with a serious tone in his voice to keep up the mood.

A brilliantly beautiful smile brightened up her face as she announced proudly. "Tomorrow you're going to meet your Steve."

8-8-8-8-8-8-8

Danny couldn't believe that nearly five years had passed since he moved to Hawaii. Life on the islands was good, great even if he was completely honest with himself; especially after finally finding his Steve, the owner of the name on his palm. He hadn't really believed his daughter when she claimed four years ago that he was going to meet his soul mate on the beach, mostly because it was highly unlikely and he was beginning to lose hope. But despite everything Grace was right and when they had gone to the beach early in the morning as soon as he had laid eyes on the man Grace intended to introduce him to, Danny knew that he was the one.

The detective couldn't really explain the feeling which had overwhelmed him at that moment, but it felt like the world had stopped moving and nothing else mattered. He knew without a single doubt in his mind or heart that this man was his soul mate.

"Stop thinking so loud, Danno." Speaking of the devil, Steve complained sleepily as he shifted around on the large bed to get comfortable again and inadvertently managed to wind his octopus like arms around the blond.

Danny couldn't help but chuckle softly at his partner because he had spent a lot of time and effort to break out his Navy seal of his habit to get up as soon as the sun started peaking over the horizon, or sometimes even before that. Well, at least over the weekend, but Danny will claim that victory proudly however small it may seem.

Turning over on his side, he ran his blue eyes over the man lying next to him, admiring and appreciating everything about him, from his ridiculously curly hair when it was damp, to his long nimble fingers to the soles of his feet. Sometimes he found it hard to believe that fate had chosen this magnificent man to be his partner in life. It made him wonder what he had done to deserve him, but Steve took it upon himself to prove and show him every single day why they belonged together.

One thing Danny was certain about though, the wait was worth it in the end.


End file.
